MicrostockGroup
Microstock Photography Forum - General => Newbie Discussion => Topic started by: mfhiatt on December 22, 2016, 13:28
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I have multiple editorial shots up on iStock of political figures running for President of US. No issues until several weeks ago when they started to reject them for the following reason:
The main subject of this image appears to be a celebrity or known person whose likeness may be protected or cannot be licensed for royalty-free use, including editorial.
I already have multiple images of the same "celebrity".
Has there been a recent change to iStock's editorial review procedures?
thx
Mike
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iWho?
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Yes, it's now 'Unreleased Creative Imagery'.
See here:
https://contributors.gettyimages.com/article.aspx?article_id=4837&esource=2016_12_13_iStock_NL_em_SEG (https://contributors.gettyimages.com/article.aspx?article_id=4837&esource=2016_12_13_iStock_NL_em_SEG)
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there is no such thing as protection for celebrities or public figures, in regards to photography, at the federal level in the US. you can legally film and sell anything that is not expressly prohibited by law (such as child pornography, or filming in a person's private home without their knowledge).
however, in the state of california, there are strict laws that protect celebrities in regards to photography, but they only apply to jurisdiction in the state of california, and they do not apply to the rest of the country.
the liability in regards to infringement is always taken by the buyer of the photo who intends to use it for presentation to the general public.
in the Supreme Court case Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., the court ruled that anything that has substantive legal uses is legal (even though betamax could record copyrighted videos). stock photography has substantive legal uses and is therefor legal.
according to Fair Use, all stock photography is legal because all stock photography can be used for commentary purposes. this is expressly written and codified in US copyright law.
1. photographers have the lowest (almost no) risk of copyright infringement
2. stock media agencies have some risk but are protected by the Safe Harbor provisions of the DMCA
3. media buyers have high risk of copyright infringement, if done improperly